A former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof Charles Soludo, has said his family went into exile beacuse of several threats to their lives when he introduced the banking consolidation policy in 2004.
He added that he received 19 written threats to his life following that policy.
Soludo stated this in an interactive session with some journalists in Awka, the Anambra State capital.
Soludo, who is contesting for the Governorship of Anambra State on the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, said a good leader must be adamant and revolutionary when embarking on progressive policies.
He said, “I am a very impatient person to see change happen and I am passionate in anything I focus on.
“At that time, no bank in Nigeria was in the top 1000 banks in the world. If you needed to make an investment of $500m, you had to go through the then 39 banks and it was an impossible task. If you wanted to borrow abroad, there was no bank here to guarantee that.
“So, I came to the realization that if we wanted to build a private sector-driven economy, it was not possible with the rickety ‘mama and papa’ banks, which could not guarantee even N3m loan. We, therefore, needed to pull down the house and rebuild it.
“There was nothing I did not see. I received 19 written threats to my life. Even there were attempts to kidnap my children at Offa in Kwara state. So it was a very brutal revolution. I had to evacuate my family during the banking consolidation because when you want to uproot a system, it is usually a deadly routine.
The Professor of economics said
his quest to govern the state was not for personal enrichment as God had blessed him all round,even before he became 30 years.
He said,” I have finished with the world, and I have also done my bit in Nigeria. I now want to help develop my own state. I am not running for this election so I can make money, or so I can enhance my CV. I am in this race to develop my home state.
“If anyone thinks that governance is about going to Abuja to collect money, use part of it to pay workers and use the rest to award contracts, then that person is mistaken. If that is what governance is about, I won’t be in the race because that is something my grandmother can do.
“We are talking about using our contacts all over the world to generate funds that we can use to develop our state at little or no cost to us. It is something I can do.
“We have touched many institutions and they changed, and it is time to touch Anambra. After all the work I have done in various places, I asked myself what else I can do as a sign of gratitude to God, and I said, let God use me as a gift to change Anambra State. That is why I am running for the governorship.
Source:- Thisdaylive